Treatment of ramie, china-grass, or other fibrous material.



UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

OASIMIR MASSE, O F RANTIGNY, FRANCE, ASSIGNOR OF ONE-HALF TO LA SOOIETEFRANQAISE DE RAMIE, OF PARIS, FRANCE.

TREATMENT OF RAMiE, CHINA-GRASS, OR OTHER FIBROUS MATERIAL.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 711,577, dated October21, 1902.

Application filed July 2, 1901- $erial No. 66,923. (No specimens.)

T0 at whom it may concern.-

Beit known that I, CASIMIRMASSE, a citizen of the Republic of France,residing at Rantigny, Oise, France, have invented certain new and usefulImprovements in or Relating to the Treatment of Ramie, China-Grass, orother Fibrous MateriaL-(for which application for Letters Patent hasbeen made in Great Britain underNo. 11,858, dated June 10,1901; inFrance, dated May 31, 1901, and in Germany,dated June 4, 1901,) of whichthe following is a specification.

The present invention relates to the cleansing or preparation of ramie,china-grass, or other fibrous material in either a raw, green, or driedstate to bring it into condition.

According to this invention an alkaline bath of potash or soda isprepared, giving by titration from four to five degrees. The dried orgreen ramie or like stems are then plunged into this bath so that theyare quite immersed. An autoclave or other vessel will serve for thisoperation. This bath must be brought to boiling temperature andmaintained at this point for fifteen to twenty minutes. The operation isterminated when on passing the finger over the stems the outer skin orpellicle becomes'easily detached. The stems must then be removed fromthe bath and dried in such a manner that they are freed as much aspossible from the alkaline bath. This bath is not exhausted and canserve indefinitely, care being taken, however, to slightly strengthen itafter each operation. The stems or material thus freed from excess ofliquid are then steeped in a bath which must not be either too liquid ortoo thick, but of a creamy consistency and consisting, preferably, of:water, six hundred and seventy-five parts; alkaline carbonate, (soda orpotash,) fifty parts; ordinary soap, fifty parts; carbonate of calcium,twenty five parts; silicate of magnesia, fifty parts; feculent oramylaceous substance, one hundred and fifty parts; total, one thousandparts. Preference is given to this bath, which produces excellentresults; but in this bath any other powder may be added or substitutedin order to effect the separation of the agglutinant mass and to producemore or less perfect the same final resultfor instance, all

inert powders, (mineral or even vegetable,) crushed sulfur, ocherous,argillaceous, silicious, or lycopodic earths, 850., which do not causeany harmful reaction or any alteration in the fiber. In this second baththe carbonate of soda and the soap can be replaced by either an alkalinesilicate or by a solution of chlorid of potassium or of soda in theproportion of about one-tenth part but this preparation gives a littlehardness to the fiber and the pulverulent mixture produced is lesseasily detached from the fiber.

The products composing the second bath have the object of intimatelypenetrating the parts rendered gelatinous by the first bath and offorming with them a finely-granulated mixture which prevents them fromagain adhering together. All new agglutination is thus prevented and thedried fiber is easily detached from this mixture, which takes away allforeign materials, the outer skin included, the fiber alone remainingintact. In the second bath the pectic and other materials leave thefiber and adhere to the powder, forming with it a purverulent mass,which is easily detached, leaving the fiber completely intact and clean.The second bath also acts to facilitate reactions between the alkalinebase and the hydrocarbonic and pectic substances. After the stems havebeen well impregnated with this semiliquid mass they are taken out anddried in a rapid current of air, and in this state they are passedbetween rollers to remove the excess of powder and the waste. In thismanner a material is obtained having the appearance of hemp or maceratedflax with pliant fibers completely separated one from the other,retaining their parallelism and free from all residues and onlyretaining their useful parts.

The essential feature of the process is the succession of the twodistinct operations, each having its own particular object and function.

First. The first bath, which leaves the fibers in their entirety andonly attacks their outer parts, reducing the pectic and other materialswhich incase the fiber to a softened gelatinous state.

Second. The second bath causes a powder in a state of very fine divisionto penetrate the agglutinant and softened mass in which the fibers arecontained, which powder prevents the original pectic mixture fromreturning to its former cohesive state and again binding the fibers.When the whole is slightly dried, by simply rubbing everything exceptthe fiber is detached in a pulverulent state and the fiber remainsentirely free.

What 1 claim as my invention, and desire to secure by Letters Patent,is-

1. The treatment of raw, green or dried ramie, china-grass or other likefibers, consisting infirst immersing the stems or material into a firsthot, alkaline bath in order to soften the pellicle, gums, or othersubstances,

which confine the fibers, drying same, and

immersing the stems or material into a second bath having an alkalineamylaceous and pulverulent base to facilitate a reaction between thealkaline base and the hydrooarbonic and pectic compounds, and to form apulverulent mixture which is easily detached from the fiber, drying thematerial and finally removing the powder and the waste from the fibers,substantially as described.

2. In the process of treating raw, green or dried ramie, china-grass orother like fibers, the herein-described essential steps of firstimmersing the stems or material in a hot, alkaline bath in order tosoften the pellicle, gums or other substances, and then immersing thestems or material in a second bath having an alkaline amylaceous andpulverulent base.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification in thepresence of two subscribing witnesses.

OASIMIR MASSE.

Witnesses:

LoUIs FULLIGER, EDWARD P. MACLEAN.

